School planning area

Lismore

12 primary schools and 1,202 pupils in 2025/26, in Counties Cork and Waterford.

Pupils in 2025/26
1,202
−24 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
−9.6%
1,330 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
12
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
20.79
Average school size: 100.2

By county

This planning area crosses county lines. Select a county to see its part of the area.

Change over
Waterford 11 1,168
−8.7%
+2.3%
Cork 1 34
−33.3%
−17.1%

Each year counts the schools in this planning area today, plus any that closed from 2023/24. Dotted lines bridge 1983/84 to 1992/93. 1974/75 is left out because that year's source file is missing five counties.

Earlier years are incomplete

The Department's files only record planning areas from 2023/24, so schools that closed or amalgamated before then aren't counted in any area. The further back you go, the more pupils are missing, and an amalgamation can look like a sudden rise. Across Counties Cork and Waterford, schools with no planning area had 2.9% of pupils in 2015/16, 7.4% in 2005/06 and 31.4% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

1,202

−24 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

12

1 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

100.2

38.0 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

20.79

−0.26 on 2024/25

2006/072025/26

Pupils in these schools

Junior infants, girls and boys, and Irish-medium schools over time, for the same schools as the trends above.

Junior infants

Pupils starting school each year. Class-by-class figures start in 2020/21. 139 in 2025/26, +10 on 2024/25.

Girls and boys

From 1976/77: earlier files don't split every school's pupils into girls and boys.

Irish-medium schools

No school in this area teaches all subjects through Irish.

Growing and falling since 2015/16

Each school's change in pupils over 10 years, from 2015/16 to 2025/26. A change of 10% or more either way counts as growing or falling.

Every school's change

12 schools with figures for both years

6fell by 10% or more
5within 10%
1grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 4Down 10 to 25% · 2Within 10% · 5Up 10 to 25% · 0Up 25% or more · 1

Average class size in these schools went from 25.5 in 2015/16 to 20.8 in 2025/26. 5 of the 6 schools that fell by 10% or more kept or added classes. A fall in pupils can mean smaller classes rather than fewer children wanting places. Smaller classes

Sort the table below by the change column to see which schools grew or fell most.

Class sizes

Mainstream class groups only. The source does not identify which standard/year group each class group belongs to.

Average class size
20.79
Mainstream classes
56
Classes of 30 or more
1
Schools with a class of 30+
1

Teachers

Teachers in the 12 mainstream primary schools here, 2006/07 to 2025/26. Class teachers are counted every year; all teaching posts where they're known.

How we count teachers
Class teachers in 2025/26
56
Up 5 since 2006/07, while pupils fell 3%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 89
Estimate: 56 class teachers, 4 principals and deputies, 22 special education and 7 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
72
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
0 / 1
0 schools gained a class teacher, 1 lost one

Class teachers since 2006/07

One for each mainstream class, every school year

Special schools and special classes

0 special schools in the Lismore planning area, and the special classes in the 12 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
0
No special school here
Special classes in 2025/26
7
In 4 of 12 schools. 2 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
8
In 4 schools: 1 new class
Autism classes
7
100% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

In the Lismore planning area's mainstream schools, from the NCSE's yearly lists

  • 2020/21 2
  • 2021/22 2
  • 2022/23 3
  • 2023/24 4
  • 2024/25 5
  • 2025/26 7
  • 2026/27 8

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Sources: Department of Education enrolment lists; NCSE special class lists and special school allocations (CC BY 4.0).

What parents would prefer

432 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Lismore planning area: 287 with children at its schools and 145 with children not yet at school. Each said whether they would prefer co-educational or single-sex schooling, a denominational or multi-denominational patron, and teaching through Irish or English.

Compare with other areas
Households that answered
432
47% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
47% / 46%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
20% / 24%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
1% / 2%
Children at school / not yet at school

Preferences beside what the schools offer now

Share of pupils in schools of each kind in the area, and share of parents who would prefer it

  • Pupils in such schools now
  • Parents: children at school
  • Parents: children not yet at school

Multi-denominational patron

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 47%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 46%

Teaching through Irish

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 20%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 24%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 1%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 2%

Bars run from 0 to 50%.

Each school's parents

Parents of children at each school. Bold marks the school's set-up now.

Share of parents at each school who would prefer each
Bunscoil Bhothar na NaomhLismore 284 75 of 183 ±9.3 48%16%1% –
Bunscoil Gleann SidheainCappoquin 189 42 of 119 ±12.3 40%19%0% –
Scoil MhuireTallow 150 56 of 107 ±10.7 34%14%4% –
Ballyduff B 2 N SBallyduff 108 5 of 19 ±29.6 60%0%0% –
Knockanore N STallow 105 33 of 59 ±13.8 58%21%0% –
Whitechurch N S CeapachDungarvan 104 36 of 68 ±13.2 53%25%0% –
Aglish N SCappoquin 82 21 of 53 ±16.9 62%14%0% –
St. Marys NS TouraneenaClonmel 55 9 of 21 ±24 44%11%0% –
S N Muire Magh DeilgeDungarvan 51 9 of 34 ±24 22%56%0% –
Curriglass NSConna 34 6 of 22 ±27.9 50%50%0% –
S N Lios Mor MochudaLismore 23 Too few to publish – ––– –
Villierstown N SCappoquin 17 7 of 13 ±26.4 43%14%0% –

Grey margins of error are 15 points or more: so few parents answered that the figures could be well off. “Too few to publish”: the Department held back the school's results, but its parents' answers still count in the area figures. Not yet at school: how many parents of children not yet at school chose the school, shown where 30 or more did. Special schools in the area are counted in the area figures above.

Source: Department of Education and Youth, Primary School Survey results, published 23 June 2026. The area figures count each household once, including parents at schools too small for their own results, so they aren't the school figures added up. About these figures

Schools

12 schools, largest first. A dash in the change column means the school had no pupils recorded in that year, usually because it opened later or took a new roll number after an amalgamation.

Change over

Select a column heading to sort

Roll number
Bunscoil Bhothar na NaomhLismore 20076V Waterford 284
−1.4%
+2.5%
12 23.17 29 0
Bunscoil Gleann SidheainCappoquin 20157V Waterford 189
−4.5%
−3.1%
8 22.12 26 0
Scoil MhuireTallow 19616U Waterford 150
+0.7%
+15.4%
6 23.00 28 0
Ballyduff B 2 N SBallyduff 15540Q Waterford 108
−22.3%
−11.5%
5 21.60 25 0
Knockanore N STallow 17522B Waterford 105
+40.0%
+14.1%
4 26.25 31 1
Whitechurch N S CeapachDungarvan 18108T Waterford 104
+3.0%
−2.8%
4 24.00 27 0
Aglish N SCappoquin 01395H Waterford 82
−24.1%
+82.2%
4 20.50 23 0
St. Marys NS TouraneenaClonmel 18779U Waterford 55
−5.2%
−6.8%
3 18.33 22 0
S N Muire Magh DeilgeDungarvan 18321T Waterford 51
−37.8%
−5.6%
3 17.00 22 0
Curriglass NSConna 12382J Cork 34
−33.3%
−17.1%
3 11.33 13 0
S N Lios Mor MochudaLismore 14164J Waterford 23
−36.1%
−37.8%
2 11.50 12 0
Villierstown N SCappoquin 07737Q Waterford 17
−62.2%
−29.2%
2 8.50 10 0